If you’re single during February (and on Valentine’s Day in particular) it’s easy to have a fairly bitter outlook on love. But instead of sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, get out there and go to a bar with your single friends. Grab a beer (or three). Wallowing in self-pity is very 2018.
To help ease the plight of a single person on Valentine’s Day, we’d like to recommend a sour beer. This tart alternative will give you the zip you need to get out there and get your Tinder on. Of course, which sour beer to drink is a worthy question. So we decided to reach out to some of our favorite bartenders.
Russian River Supplication
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Hope Ewing, beverage director at Rappahannock Oyster Bar at ROW DTLA in Los Angeles
“All-time favorite: Russian River Brewing’s Supplication. Russian River makes a whole line of these amazing barrel-aged sours, many of which you can only get at the brewery. This one is brewed with sour cherries and aged in ex-pinot noir casks. It’s a flavor bomb that is equal to their bottle’s medieval imagery.”
Honky Tonk Cherry Berliner Weisse
Nahm Kim, head mixologist at Sunda New Asian in Chicago
“I’ve been drinking a lot of the Cherry Berliner Weisse from Honky Tonk Brewery in Nashville. A real easy sipper with some bright acidity and a fruity bite from the cherries that reminds you that springtime is just around the corner. Pairs great with smoked chicken wings.”
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Will Benedetto, Director of Bars at In Good Company Hospitality in New York City
“What’s my favorite sour beer? I love Rodenbach Grand Cru. It’s what got me into Sours.”
Cuvee des Jacobins
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Tanya Queeney, bartender at Old Town Pour House in Oak Brook, Illinois
“Cuvee des Jacobins has always been a favorite of mine – easy drinking and not completely mouth puckering sour. It’s good and easy to drink.”
Peekskill Simple Sour
Josh Cameron, head bartender at Boulton & Watt in New York City
“Sour beer and I have a love/hate/it’s complicated/I-need-you-but-I can’t-live-with-you relationship. I have been burned, awakened, shaken, and reborn time and time again, and every time I say I’m done, something comes along that makes me turn around on the subway tracks. Right now that is Peekskill’s Simple Sour, because love should be simple, and it usually never is.”
Avery Raspberry Sour
Adam Peabody, bartender at LH Rooftop in Chicago
“I tend to gravitate toward fruit-forward sour beers. I’ve found that fruit flavors, particularly berries, really compliment their acidity. With that said, Avery Brewing out of Boulder, Colorado has a fantastic oak-aged raspberry sour from their Botanicals & Barrels line that I’d highly recommend.”
Southern Grist Boil the Ocean
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Patrick Halloran, bar manager at Henrietta Red in Nashville
“What’s my favorite sour beer? I do not drink a tremendous amount of beer, but Southern Grist makes a sour from time to time called ‘Boil the Ocean’ which is a sour with tangerine and sea salt that I think is simply delightful.”
Brewery Terreux Tart of Darkness
Mariel Burns, head bartender at Trademark Taste + Grind in New York City
“My favorite sour beer? Tart of Darkness from Brewery Terreux. It’s a traditional stout that has been aged in barrels that have held sour beer with the addition of wild yeast. It’s unmistakably a stout with a dark richness, and yet it’s tart on the finish. I love it.”
Crooked Stave Nightmare on Brett
Andrew Hannigan, bartender at Bastion in Nashville
“What’s my favorite sour beer? Crooked Stave, Nightmare on Brett. I love the intense, tart berry taste along with the funky elements of this intense barrel-aged dark sour.”
Hudson Valley Bloom
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Eryn Reece, head bartender, BANZARBAR in New York City
“I’m a huge fan of what the guys are doing in Beacon, New York at Hudson Valley Brewery. They’re constantly changing their offerings but my recent favorite is their ‘Bloom’ It’s a sour IPA that has a little chocolate-chamomile funk going on.”
Founders Green Zebra
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Robert Hubbard, bartender at JW Marriott Chicago
“My favorite sour beer is Founders Green Zebra Gose. It has a great watermelon flavor initially and then ends with a nice sea salt taste. It’s delicious and not as hoppy for people who aren’t big fans of beer.”
Finback Relaxation Cassette
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Jason Rodriguez, beverage director at HALL in New York City
“To be very honest I’m not a huge sour beer fan myself, but I have found one that everyone one — including myself and the biggest sour beer fan have both loved. The Finback Relaxation Cassette which is a lemongrass sour beer that Finback Brewery is producing. At 8.8% abv it is surprisingly smooth and easy drinking, not overly sour, and has some amazing notes of citrus, lemongrass, and vanilla. Definitely get your hands on one if you can.”
